ReZone Albany turns its focus to Central Avenue

An apartment building, a garage, a veterinary hospital. What do these businesses have in common?

They're part of a swath of Central Avenue that is being studied as part of the ReZone Albany initiative. Beginning August 10, ReZone Albany will host a three-day visioning, zoning and form-based code workshop that focuses on the area around Central Avenue and Manning Square. The City of Albany Planning Department will bring in Dover, Kohl & Partners, an urban design firm to help guide the workshop.

This Central Avenue / Manning Sq. Design Workshop is a follow-up to the Warehouse District Design Workshop that took place in May.

Ultimately feedback from these workshops will be used to inform the city's rezoning process.

The Central Avenue design workshop sessions will include public meetings, tours of the area, meetings with property and business owners and stakeholders. The series will culminate in a presentation on Wednesday, August 12 at The Linda, WAMC's Performing Arts Studio. The Central Avenue Business Improvement District is co-sponsoring the design workshop.

"The goal is to help us gather input from the community, particularly in that area, because it holds a great deal of opportunity, that has yet to be defined," says Anthony Capece, Executive Director for the Central Avenue Business Improvement District.

The study area, which begins at Quail Street and extends to King Avenue, was part of the city's second and third westward expansion, and land use was much more dynamic. The corridor includes high-rise apartment buildings, garages, home improvement stores, car dealerships, discount stores, and not-for-profits. At the time, the focus was on development--and you can see that reflected in the types of buildings that were constructed. The mentality was "out with the old, in with the new," Capece says, and buildings were constructed without public input or a great deal of regard for the future of the area.

As a consequence, the area is challenging to develop, and it's harder for property owners to achieve the highest value for their property.

"The zoning of the past made it harder for property owners to achieve the highest and best use, and ultimately get the real value of their property," says Capece. "We're interested in making this area the best possible use for the neighborhood."

The workshop will take place Monday, August 10-Wednesday August 12, at The Linda, WAMC's Performing Arts Studio, located at 339 Central Avenue. There are two parking lots on-site. A kick-off meeting and hands-on design workshop will take place Monday, August 10, from 6-8pm at The Linda. On Tuesday, August 11, there will be open-design studios from 11am-12pm, 1:30pm-3pm, and 4pm-5pm at The Linda, and on Wednesday, August 12, the group's findings will be presented during a work in progress presentation for the public, at The Linda.